Rural signal device.



No. 670,833. Patented Mar. 26, I90I.

F. C. BATES.

RURAL SIGNAL DEVICE.

(Applcntion led July 17, 1900.) (No Modal.)

\ A SMQ/Mofo i 26a/c2@ www?.

Nrru STATES ATENT rFiCE.

FRANCIS O. BATES, OF SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO W. G. I-IAWLEY, OF SAME PLACE.

RURAL SIGNAL DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 670,833, dated March 26, 1901.

Application filed July 17, 1900. Serial No. 23,865. (No model.)

To all whom it may concer-n.'

Be it known that I, FRANCIS C. BATES, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Jose, county of Santa Clara, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Rural Signal Devices; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to a device Which is especially designed for use in rural or suburban districts for the purpose of notifying grocers, butchers, and other tradesmen when they are desired to call at any house on the route.

It consists, essentially, of boards having the names of various tradesmen or others whom it is desired to have call printed upon them and hinged or otherwise-attached flaps which normally coverthe names. These boards are fixed at the entrances of the residence, so that they can be readily seen by the passer-by, and when the service of any particular tradesman is desired the coveringflap is removed or turned down, so as to expose the name and indicate that he is requested to call.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, the ligure is a View of my device.

In rural and suburban districts surrounding towns and cities it is difficult for tradesnien in the towns to serve the residents of such districts with the articles of their daily or occasional needs,because the residences are often located at considerable distances apart, and they are also frequently situated at a consideralole distance from the road, which makes it necessary for the tradesman or person soliciting orders to drive to the house and then back-to the road, and the number of stops that may be made before a single order is obtained Would be so great that it is not possible to cover ground enough during the days drive to pay the expense of keeping out the team.

It is the object of my invention to provide a means by which all such residents can notify any one of the class of tradesmen or other dealers with whom they have daily or occasional business whether their service is desired or not. For this purposeI make a board A, which is of sufficient size to receive the names of as many tradesmen as are liable to be Wanted, such as grocer, baker, butcher, and fish-dealer. These names are printed in type of sufficient size upon a board and at a sufficient distance apart, as shown at 2.

3 represents strips of metal or other covering-plates of sufficient size so that each will normally cover one of the naines. These plates or strips are arranged in any suitable manner, so that they can be removed to eX- pose the name covered by them or replaced. As here shown, the strips have rods 4 connected with them and hinged at a convenient point upon the board, as shown at 5. It is preferable to hinge the rods from points below the names which they cover, so that they may drop by gravitation when desired to leave the name uncovered. When closed,they are engaged by spring or other locking catches 6, which hold them in place.

As the persons to be served may desire to have only certain tradesmen call at their places, I have arranged the board with a suflicient space between each of the names so that the name of the particular tradesman may be printed or attached in conjunction with the goods. Thus if the Star grocer is the one which is desired the figure of a star may be imprinted in conjunction with the word Grocer, and this may either be left uncovered or preferably covered by the flap or plate when the latter is in position.

If there are several bakers, butchers, or other dealers who travel over these roads for orders, it is only necessary to place the card of the dealer whom it is desired to have call in conjunction with the particular goods supplied, and when the flap is dropped the name of the dealer and the class of goods are exposed at the same time.

On some portion of the board, as at the bottom, a sufficient space is left for the name of the resident of the place, or this may be occupied by numbers or characters, which characters will correspond with similar characters kept at the store or other place of business,-

so that orders are readily obtained and filled.

In the use of this device as many of these boards are made as will be needed for the routes to be covered-as, for instance, one hundred and fifty or one hundred and seventy-five-and they will be fixed at the en IOO trance of the various residences. The driver or order-man then passing along the road has only to glance at the board to know Whether it is desired to have him stop or not. In this kWay no time is lost in stopping or driving to the door and ringing to call some one to ask the question, and routes of considerably greater length can be covered each day than under the ordinary system.

Various devices may be employed for suspending and operating the covering-plates; but the one at present shown illustrates a very convenient method, which is a representative of any equivalent mechanical device.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination in a signal device of a board having a series of names of tradesmen or the like imprinted thereon at intervals,

plates adapted to cover such names having hinged rods by Which they are supported and locking-catches by Which they are normally retained so as to cover the names, said plates being released and falling by gravitation to expose any desired name.

2. The combination in a signal device of a board having names imprinted thereon With an interval between, spaces adapted to receive the name of the particular tradesman Whose service is desired, plates with rods by which they are hinged so as to swing about their hinge-points and locking-catches by which said plates are held so as to cover the names, either plate being released and falling by gravitation so as to expose the name of the one whose service is desired.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

FRANCIS C. BATES.

Witnesses:

S. H. Nonnen, CHAS. E. ToWNsEND. 

